OSHA requirements for small business come from the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), part of the U.S. Department of Labor, enforces it. This page is meant for owners of U.S. businesses with Canada or India ties, such as a foreign-owned LLC hiring its first employee in Aurora.
OSHA requirements for small business in seven slides
Who the law covers
| Group | Federal OSHA treatment |
|---|---|
| Private employer with at least one employee | Covered, with a few narrow exceptions |
| A self-employed person who has no employees | Not covered |
| State and local government | State plan applies (in Illinois, public employers only) |
| Company that had 10 or fewer employees throughout last year | Covered; exempt only from routine injury recordkeeping, not from death and severe-injury reports |
| Site in a listed low-hazard industry | Partial recordkeeping exemption only |
| Working conditions regulated by another federal agency | The OSH Act does not cover those conditions |
What it means for a foreign-owned or cross-border business
Coverage turns on having employees in a business that affects commerce, working in a covered place such as a State. The Act's definition of employer does not depend on where owners live.
| Situation | What the law says | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. company owned from Canada or India, with U.S. employees | Covered | Poster, standards, reporting clocks |
| Founder working alone | Self-employed with no employees: not covered | Revisit at the first hire |
| Several U.S. sites | The 10-employee test uses company-wide peak headcount; online-submission tests count each site's people, part-time and seasonal included | Headcount by site |
| Staffing-agency workers you supervise daily | Their recordable injuries go on your log | Who directs the work |
| Owner abroad when an incident happens | Reports are due in 8 or 24 hours. With the area office closed, use the toll-free line or online form | Who in the U.S. reports |
Home-country safety rules are for your own advisers; our India labour guide outlines India's codes. For a first hire, see the U.S. employer checklist and Illinois employer registrations.
Where to go next
OSHA rules and checklist has the dates, changes and the Blue-Lantern Site Safety Walk. See also FICA, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Illinois safety law for public employers.
Official sources
- OSHA: Penalties
- OSHA: Injury Tracking Application
- OSHA: Illinois State Plan
- eCFR: 29 CFR Part 1904, Recording and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
- Illinois Department of Labor: On-Site Safety and Health Consultation
This page summarizes public guidance in plain language. If anything here differs from the official source, the official source controls.